Practice Support Lawyer - Intellectual Property

Job Description

At K&L Gates, we are looking for smart, imaginative and hard-working people with diverse backgrounds, experiences and ideas to join us. Perhaps our search for talented visionaries and your search for important and impactful work lead to the same place.

Position Summary

The Practice Support Lawyer (PSL) is responsible for creating, maintaining and updating the knowledge and practice innovation assets and services for their assigned practice areas, as required by the relevant Practice Area Leader partners, Director of Practice Operations and Director of Practice Innovation (Director). Reporting to the Director, the PSL will provide support to their assigned practice areas and designated firmwide projects across a range of knowledge management (KM), innovation, generative AI, precedents, client growth, professional development and practice support initiatives.

Essential Duties

Practice Support Lawyers' focus will vary depending on the needs of their practice areas. Core duties include:

• Develop, review and manage precedent and intellectual property for the practice area, which includes assisting practice lawyers and PSLs to organise and facilitate knowledge, precedents, and innovation forums and projects
• Apply, contribute to, and promote the development of a firmwide KM process to drive consistency, currency and excellence in precedents and knowledge assets and systems within (and across) the practice(s)
• Build close working relationships with partners, lawyers and allied professionals in the relevant practice areas; maintain a good understanding of the legal services provided by the practice areas and its clients/industries; be proactive in finding opportunities to increase efficiency through process improvement or the application of legal technology (including generative AI); and ensure knowledge, innovation and precedents services meet practice area needs
• Ensure compliance with firm policies, protocols and standards relevant to KM, data governance, and generative AI use, and that applicable policies and protocols are communicated in a clear and timely way
• Keep abreast of legal technology available at the firm to drive productivity, and help identify opportunities to apply solutions.
• Work with lawyers in the practice area to help identify use cases for AI or generative AI applications, agentic AI solutions, and automated workflow, including helping define, test, iterate and embed such solutions, both for the practice area and (where appropriate) client-facing solutions
• As required, provide support for document and workflow automation and collaboration projects including design, analysis, mapping, testing and training
• Collaborate with IT developers, data scientists, adoption and change management resources to help drive development and adoption of innovative practice solutions
• Drafting and editing precedents, guidance notes, checklists, client growth pitches and RFPs, training materials and presentations, legal updates and any other communications
• Use visual communication of legal advice and provide consultation to practice areas on visual standards, where appropriate
• Answer client growth and knowledge/innovation related enquiries from partners, lawyers and allied professionals, including Client Growth team members responding to client pitches and RFPs, and assist with the review and editing of pitch related materials for client proposals
• Communicate with the assigned practice areas on developments with KM resources, available legal technology solutions, and successful use cases
• Keep up to date with legal developments in relevant practice area and help advance practice innovation and professional development to reflect those advancements
• Assist with developing and delivering training on legal and practical knowledge and innovation topics

Additional duties - may also include:

• Provide assistance to the Directors and other PSLs on compliance tasks as required by the Office of General Counsel, which may include researching, advising and training on global and national policies and professional practice standards
• Assist with facilitation of legal design sprints and hackathons and applying design thinking to legal problems
• Proactively identify, communicate, develop and implement new ways to improve KM and innovation services to K&L Gates, and promote opportunities for collaboration and innovation in delivering client services
• Participate in and contribute to (when requested) relevant global projects (multi regional or multi practice group)
• Participate in practice area meetings, Practice Innovation team meetings, PSL meetings and any relevant project meetings
• Record time if required on approved matters and projects
• Attend regular CLE/CPD sessions to maintain practicing certificate
• Maintain internal and external networks.

Experience and Skills Required

• Qualified lawyer with at least 5+ years post admission experience - must have a valid practicing certificate for relevant jurisdiction
• Must have previously worked as a lawyer in private practice, specializing in Intellectual Property, and have maintained up to date legal knowledge in relevant practice area
• Knowledge Management, process improvement and change management experience or qualifications preferred (or willingness to develop skills in these areas)
• Excellent drafting skills and a demonstrated understanding of/commitment to plain language drafting and visual communication of legal advice
• Demonstrated experience with emerging legal technology, especially supporting/building/promoting AI and generative AI solutions, AI Agents, document and workflow automation, to assist the practice of law, is an advantage
• Ability to work independently with minimal supervision
• Excellent problem solving, time management and delegation skills; prepared to take on tasks delegated to you as needed
• Excellent communication (verbal and written) and influencing skills, including presentation, training and facilitation skills
• Good relationship building and interpersonal skills, able to work across multi-disciplinary teams to achieve collective outcomes; sensitive to global cultural and diversity issues
• Creative and collaborative approach to innovation; willingness to explore options for improvement; openness to productive change.

In accordance with the Los Angeles Fair Chance Ordinance, San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, and the California Fair Chance Act, qualified applicants for our Los Angeles and San Francisco offices with arrest and conviction records will be considered.

ABOUT THE FIRM

K&L Gates is a fully integrated global law firm with lawyers located across five continents in more than 40 offices. We have experienced dramatic growth in the past decade and now rank among the largest U.S. based law firms in the world. We take pride in constantly striving for innovation, imagination and an entrepreneurial spirit. We come up with big ideas and then roll up our sleeves to get the job done, guiding our clients through their most complex issues in a variety of industry sectors and across multiple regions of the world.

The industry recognition the firm has garnered emanates from the foundation of a global community aligned on behalf of our clients. The people at K&L Gates are committed to working together to create a legacy for each other, the firm, our clients, and the communities in which we serve. We thrive in an inclusive and socially conscious environment that embraces diversity and takes a holistic approach to the career evolution of all our professionals.

Notice: We participate in E-Verify in certain Firm locations for purposes of verifying employment eligibility.

It is unlawful in Massachusetts to require or administer a lie detector test as a condition of employment or continued employment. An employer who violates this law shall be subject to criminal penalties and civil liability.

BENEFITS

K&L Gates offers our personnel a comprehensive suite of benefits to help meet your needs now and in the future. Depending on your eligibility, options for full-time personnel include:

EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY

The Firm is an equal opportunity employer. It is the policy of the Firm that employment decisions shall be based on merit, qualifications and competence. Employment practices will not be influenced or affected by virtue of a person’s race (including traits associated with race, including hair texture and protective hairstyles such as afros, braids, locks, and twists), religion, creed, color, national origin, ancestry, citizenship, physical disability, mental disability, medical condition, genetic information, marital status, sex, pregnancy, childbirth, breastfeeding, gender, parental status, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, age, familial status, domestic violence victim status, military and veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable federal, state, or local law. This policy governs all aspects of employment including, without limitation, recruiting, hiring, compensation, benefits, promotion, assignment, and dismissal. In addition, it is the Firm’s policy to provide an environment that is free of prohibited harassment of any kind including, without limitation, that which is based on sex, race, age, disability, ethnic background, or any other category protected by law (including the categories listed above). The Firm complies with federal and state disability laws and makes reasonable accommodations for applicants and employees with disabilities. If you require reasonable accommodation in completing this application, interviewing, or otherwise participating in the employee selection process, please contact askHR@klgates.com.